With the NFL schedule set to release tonight, some schedule leaks are set to trickle in, especially in regards to the Atlanta Falcons. Leaks helped us figure out that it would be the Cincinnati Bengals facing the Falcons in Madrid, and now some leaks exposed who Atlanta's Week 1 opponent will be.
Just like the Madrid game, it's rumored to be another team who Kevin Stefanski is eerily familiar with from his time in the AFC North: the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Falcons are rumored to be headed to Acrisure Stadium to kick off the 2026 season for a game that will kick off at 1:00 p.m. on Sept. 13.
It'll be a battle of two teams with first-year coaches, as it'll be Stefanski and the Falcons squaring off with Mike McCarthy's Steelers. But that's not the most intriguing part of this matchup, as Raheem Morris faced the exact same team in his head coaching debut with the Dirty Birds back in 2024.
Raheem Morris and Kevin Stefanski will face off with the same team in their Falcons' debuts
Unfortunately, Morris didn't fare particularly well in said game (which checks out). Atlanta took a 10-9 lead into the halftime locker room, but in typical Morris fashion, it didn't stay that way. The Steelers' defense held them scoreless in the second half to win 18-10 as Kirk Cousins threw two interceptions.
Additionally, Drake London was held to just two receptions for 15 yards against an elite Pittsburgh secondary, while Justin Fields' mobility gave Jimmy Lake's defense a tough time. The Falcons didn't do anything too poorly either, the Steelers just Steelers'd their way into a win over a horrible coach.
Luckily, the Steelers are an familiar foe for Stefanski to face in his Falcons' debut. Across six years facing them with the Browns, he went 6-7, but they split the season series in each of the last four years. However, the two-time Coach of the Year hasn't won in Pittsburgh since the 2020 playoffs.
The Dirty Birds had two other games leaked: Week 8 on the road against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Week 15 on the road against the Washington Commanders (both at 1PM ET). All of these games are winnable, but having to go into Pittsburgh to kick off 2026 will be a brutal road environment.
Beating the Steelers on their home field won't come easy, but as of now, they'll be starting 2025 sixth-round pick Will Howard or third-round rookie Drew Allar in Week 1. The Michael Penix Jr./Tua Tagovailoa QB battle isn't great, but either of them is way more reliable than two unproven young QBs.
With these circumstances in mind, hopefully Stefanski can write the wrongs of Morris and help the Falcons start off 1-0.
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